Two migrant farm workers took a day off Thursday to deliver a petition to Gov. Peter Shumlin asking him to oppose a controversial federal immigration enforcement program. But the governor was tied up in meetings, so Danilo Lopez and Over Lopez (pictured) pleaded their case with the Agency of Agriculture’s second-in-command instead.
For the last month, the Lopezes (who are not related) have been organizing migrant workers on Vermont dairy, vegetable and horse farms in opposition to Secure Communities, or S-Comm, an Obama administration program that shares fingerprints collected by local police agencies with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The program’s goal is to catch and deport criminal aliens, but it has come under fire for sweeping up large numbers of undocumented immigrants who have no criminal record.
Asked about S-Comm at his weekly press conference, Shumlin said that on a “philosophical level” he believes Vermont should treat migrant workers with “respect and dignity.” But he stopped well short of committing to taking a stand against the program.
“I haven’t seen exactly what they’re asking us to do,” the governor said, “so I’m gonna plead the Fifth.”
Armed with a petition signed by 70 migrant workers, the Lopezes (Danilo is pictured at right) and other members of the Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project arrived in Montpelier unannounced at 8:45 a.m. hoping to catch the governor. Instead, they were greeted by a gubernatorial intern, Catherine Craig, who informed the group that the governor was in meetings all morning. She escorted them across the street to the Agency of Agriculture for an impromptu meeting with Deputy Secretary Diane Bothfeld.
The immigrants’ petition asks Shumlin to publicly “say no” to Secure Communities because it “threatens our security,” “promotes racial discrimination” and lacks transparency. Until recently, it was unclear whether the program was voluntary or mandatory, and governors in three states — Massachusetts, New York and Illinois — declared they would not participate. ICE has since clarified that S-Comm is mandatory and that every state must be on board by 2013. The Shumlin administration has said no one from ICE has approached Vermont officials yet about participating.
Bothfeld appeared unfamiliar with the immigration enforcement program, asking the farm workers whether it was “Vermont or federal?” Through a translator, Over Lopez, a 21-year-old Mexican who works six days a week growing greenhouse vegetables, clarified that it was federal and told Bothfeld: “We are part of the workforce in the dairy industry. If we were to be removed or deported, your state would be in an economic crisis. Everything would collapse.”
Danilo Lopez, a 22-year-old Mexican employed on a horse farm in Charlotte, added: “We come to this country for necessity — to try to feed our families, and if they get sick, to have something to send them to a hospital with. If we were to flip roles and you or Mr. Shumlin were in my situation, you would seek support to defend your rights.”
Bothfeld (pictured with Danilo Lopez) listened and promised to pass on the request to Shumlin, as well as supply the farm workers with figures about the exact number of migrant workers employed on Vermont farms. The Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project estimates that 1200 to 1500 migrant workers help sustain Vermont’s struggling dairy farms. Most of these workers are not documented.
The workers also released an open letter today to Vermont farmers asking for their support in opposing S-Comm. It reads, “Such programs also affect you as an employer because when we run the risk of arrest, it leaves you without workers and damages your farms and threatens your income. In order to recruit new people, you must again teach them the operations of the farm, only to run the risk of repeating history over again.”
The delivery of the petition to Shumlin was timed to loosely coincide with a wave of national protests against S-Comm and the release of a critical new report about the initiative.
Later, at his weekly press conference, Shumlin was asked about the petition and whether he thinks Vermont law enforcement should be acting as immigration agents. The governor wouldn’t directly answer the question but said: “On a philosophical level this is what I know. Vermont farmers rely on migrant labor to deliver product to market. And we want to be a state that takes good care of the people that work so hard on our farms.”
Shumlin added that he wants Vermont banks to figure out a way for migrant workers to transfer money back home without incurring high-fee services as Western Union does. “We want to make sure that Vermont is a state where, when we host migrant workers, we treat them with respect and dignity. We have a raging immigration debate going on in America. There’s no question, in my view, that our immigration policies in this country are broken, and that the federal government is … frankly, some of their policies are out of step with how we treat our farm workers in Vermont.”
This article appears in Aug 17-23, 2011.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
This may seem like a small problem in Vermont but nationaly these criminals are a financial burden to our southwestern states right up to Colorado and even in the mid atlantic states.We were almost killed by a farm worker that was drunk behind the wheel on Virginia’s eastern shore.And we must not forget the children they have are born U.S. citizens and that policy should change also.All law enforcement should be on the look out for these people and they should be arrested and deported immeadeatly.To the farmers that employ them (Illeagal’s)lock them up as well.And to the petition signers join the EB5 program and for 500,000 US dollars you can get a visa.
“I don’t believe in a caste system where some people are legal citizens and everyone else is “illegal”.”You’re in the wrong country then, and quite possibly on the wrong planet. Most first world countries require permission for extended, or permanent, stays.”We need to find a way to do at least two things:”Your two goals are in direct conflict. Not saying which is right – much smarter people than anyone reading this can’t quite figure that out – but achieving one would render the other impossible.
Oh, these ILLEGALS are SO GUILTY. They are GUILTY of working very LONG HOURS at very DANGEROUS JOBS for very LOW WAGES to provide for their families!How dare they!
“We are part of the workforce in the dairy industry. If we were to be removed or deported, your state would be in an economic crisis. Everything would collapse.”That’s it. That’s the key quote here.Complain about illegal aliens all you want, but if you wave a magic wand and deport them all tomorrow, we’d be in BIG trouble. Like it or not, our economy, especially the agricultural economy, runs on the backs of these people.
How about if I just move in to your house? Sure, I’ll do some work, but you can’t kick me out. And when you complain I’ll call you a racist.
I don’t believe in a caste system where some people are legal citizens and everyone else is “illegal”. I knew someone from Brazil who was a computer programmer and she had overstayed her visa while applying for citizenship and was concerned for her own well-being from US ICE and even local police.Migrants should feel proud of their work on farms and other workplaces. I support their push for fair protections under Vermont state law.Shumlin should visit one of the farms or run-down trailer homes these people work or live in when he does his Douglas-like trips around the state. You can’t improve Vermont farms and farmers without improving the situation for migrant farmers.
First, saying that because I want to stay in a clean hotel I should not complain about illegal aliens is just a silly, silly argument. Second, illegal is still illegal. You don’t pick and choose which laws to enforce based on being a bleeding heart liberal. If we didn’t tolerate illegality we’d have US citizens cleaning our hotels rooms, not illegal aliens.
Only those who do not like to eat at home or in fancy eateries, do not like to stay in clean hotels, and/or do not like to have a great deal of labor intensive work completed would in any way complain about “undocumented” workers. Even here in Vermont, beyond farm workers, there are 100s (probably 1000s) “non-citizen” workers, mostly undocumented or exploited in some way, working in the service sectors, construction and more. We need to find a way to do at least two things:1. Encourage our Vermont work force and employers to figure out how to better work together to lower our chronic unemployment rolls. Putting more people to work will lessen the need for outside workers.2. Take reasonable steps to legalize foreign workers and help them become Vermont citizens. Vermont needs new young families. This move will help with that need.
I understand the migrant workers concerns, but their petition means nothing legally as they are not citizens, and petitions must be signed by citizens. Sorry but the petition is a mute point. Vermont is an at will state and this petition is a waste of time.Were the state to act on it would open a can of legal worms that will not squirm to far as the law is clear in this matter.The petition has to be dead on arrival as it was started by non citizens and seems to be signed by non citizens.
“but it has come under fire for sweeping up large numbers of undocumented immigrants who have no criminal record.”No criminal record? How about being in the US ILLEGALLY? Being in the US illegally is a criminal offense. OMG — heaven forbid that we should do anything to an ILLEGAL alien! Legal immigration is fine, as are visas, farm worker programs, student visa programs. But NOT illegal immigration. If SComm sweeps up illegal immigrants, then no one has anything to complain about.